Road-drag.



H. ERICKSON.

ROAD DRAG.

APPLICATION FILED. JULY 31, 19I5.

Patented Mar. 7,1916.

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IN VEN TOR ddor 5710725077 W1 TNESSES:

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Atlorney H. ERICKSON.

ROADDRAG.

APPLICATION FILED IULYQI, I9I5.

Patented Mar. 7, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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fllzd'arErL'c/k6oig IN VEN TOR- WITNESSES.-

A/lomey HILDOR ERICKSON, OF PALMER, IOWA.

ROAD-DRAG.

Application filed July 31, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HILDOR ERIoKsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Palmer, in the county of Pocahontas and State of Iowa, haveinvented a new and useful Road-Drag, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to an improvement in road drags, and the objectis to provide a frame having a plurality of blades extend ing outwardlyfrom'the sides thereof, and means for adjusting the blades to change theangle of the blades to suit the conditions in the working of the road.

A further object is in the provision of gutter or ditch cleaners for thepurpose of cleaning the ditches at the same time that the road is beingscraped.

A still further object is in the provision of means for conveying thedrag from one locality to another by means of wheels or rollers, whichare connected to the drag and normally held at an elevation, sothat.they will not interfere with the drag blades when they are to be used,but which are capable of being lowered for elevating the blades when itis desired to remove the drag from one destination to another withoutthe blades coming in contact with the road surface.

-The invention consists of certain novel features of construction andcombinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described and pointedout in the claims.

It will be evident that many slight changes may be made in the form andarrangement of the several parts to be described, without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention, and hence I do not wish to belimited to the exact construction herein set forth.

In the accompanying drawings,-Figure 1 is a top plan view of theinvention, the dotted lines indicating the position assumed by theblades in crowning the road. Fig. 2 is a view in end elevation. Fig. 3is a vertical sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is asectional view on the line H of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail view partlyin section of the clip and pulley of the draft beam, illustrating themanner of passing the chain around the pulley.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 7, 1916.

Serial No. 43,011.

The frame of the drag, which is preferably made rectangular, consists oflongitudmal channel or I beams A which are connected together bycross-bars 1-1 and diagonal bars 2. Thecross bars 1, beams and thediagonal bars 2, afford a strong and rigid frame. Pivotally connected tothe lower surfaces of the beams A are the inner terminals ofthetransverse or channel bars 3. These bars are preferably made U- shaped,the smooth surface projecting toward the forward end of the machine, andthe right-angular flanges 4 extending rearwardly. The upper fianges 4 ofthe channel bars 3 are connected to the beams A by means of bolts 5 andnuts 6. Mounted on the bars 3, and near their outer terminals,

are longitudinal channel beams B. The beams B are connected to the upperflanges of the transverse bars 3 by means of bolts 7 and nuts 8. Braces9 are connected to the lower flanges 1 of the bars 3 by bolts 10 andnuts 1.1. The upper terminals of the braces 9 are connected to theundersides of the beams A and B by means of bolts 12 and nuts 13. Thesebraces strengthen the transverse bars 3 along their lower edges wherethe greatest strain is imparted to the bars.

Connected to the front face of each bar 3 is a blade 14, by means ofbolts 15 and nuts 16. The blades 14: project below the lower terminalsof the bars 3. Mounted centrally on each bar A is a vertical shaft 17.The shaft passes'through an upper flange 18 of the bar A, and has itslower terminal reduced to fit into an opening 19 in the lower flange 20of the bar. A washer 21 is mounted upon the shaft beneath the upperflange 18, and a pin 22 passes through the shaft beneath the washer forfastening the shaft to the beam.

Mounted upon the shaft 17 andabove the flange 18 of the beam A, is asprocket wheel 23 which is fixed to and rotatable with the shaft 17Connected to the outer terminals of each beam B is 'a chain 24, whichchain passes around the sprocket wheel 23 of the shaft 17 Upon therotation of the shafts 17 the chains 24. will be caused to travel in onedirection or another for shifting the transverse bars 3 at an angle tothe beams A. Longitudinal plates are mounted upon bars 1 connected tothe beams A. A ratchet wheel 27 is fixed to each shaft 17 and locatedabove the plates 25. A foot pedal 28 is fulcrumed on the plates 25, anda terminal of each foot pedal .28 is adapted to engage the teeth of theratchet wheels 27 for holding the shafts 17 against rotation, wherebythe transverse bars 3 may be held at right angles to the beams A, or atany angle in a horizontal plane which the occas1on may demand.

The two shafts 17 and chains 24 permit the bars 3 on each side of theframe to be maintained at the same angle with respect to the frame orbeams A, or one set of bars may be held at a different angle from theother set, or the bars on the opposite side of the frame. Connected neareach end of the beams A and B are bell crank levers 29. Journaled in thelower terminals of the bell crank levers are rollers or wheels 30. Alink 31 is connected to the levers 29 of each beam. A hand lever 32 ispivotally connected to each beam A and B, projects upwardly from theframe, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, for ready access and is pivotallyconnected to the link 31 of each beam by a pin 33. A toothed segment 34is connected to each beam, and the teeth of the segment are engaged bypawls 35 which are connected to the hand grip 36 of the lever by links37. Upon the actuation of the levers 32 the wheels 30 can be moved to aposition for raising the blades 14 above the I road surface, or thewheels can be moved to a position so that the blades will be moved intoengagement with the road surface and the wheels above the road surface.WVhen the wheels are brought into engagement with the road surface thedrag can be moved from one locality to another, across bridges and thelike.

W hen it is desired to cross a bridge which may be of narrowconstruction, the bars 3 can be swung or shifted at such an angle withrespect to the beams .A, for instance, that indicated by dotted lines inFig. 1, so that the drag can be conducted across the bridge without thenecessity of disconnecting any of the parts of the drag.

Hinged to the outer surfaces, and near the lower terminals of the beamsB, are bars 38 which are provided with blades 39, These bars 38 andblades 39 are constructed and connected together in the same manner asthe bars 3. A chain 40 is connected to an eye 41, at the outer terminalof each bar 38, and a hook 42 on the other terminal of the chain isadapted to engage an eye 43 on the bar of the beam B for affordingrigidity to the bar 38 during the scraping operation. The bars 38 areintended to scrape or clean the gutters or ditches along the sides ofthe road, and the angle of these bars can be changed by simply passingthe hook 42 through the eye 43 and causing the hook to engage a link ofthe chain or the eye 41. Nhenthe hooks 42 are passed through the eye 4:3and engage the eyes 41, the bars 38 will be swung practically to theirlimit of movement toward the beams B.

A draft beam 45 is provided with clips 46 at its outer terminals, andjournaled in the clips are pulleys 47. Chains 48 are connected to thebeams A and B and each chain passes around a pulley 47. This flexibleconnection between the drag and the draft beam permits the drag frame orbeams A to always be maintained in the line of draft, whereas the bars 3and 38 may be at an angle to the line of draft. The connection of thebars 3 with the beams A and B is such that the bars may be swung orshifted to an angle with respect to the beams without changing theparallelism of the beams A and B. The beams B may be moved closer to thebeams A, but they will always be maintained in a parallel relation, andthe bars 3 will always be maintained parallel to each other. The chainsor flexible connections 24 permit the bars on either side I of the frameto be shifted at an angle with respect to the frame, regardless of theangle of the other set of bars located on the opposite side of theframe.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a drag which canbe constructed and assembled at a small cost, and which is simple in itsoperation. The scraper blades can. be arranged at any angle to suit therequirements in the formation of the road surface. When the road is tobe crowned the bars 3 and the plates 14 are swung at an angle, otherthan a right angle, with respect to the beams A.

What is claimed is,

1. A road drag comprising a main frame, lateral frames pivoted forhorizontal adjustment on the main frame, scraper blades depending fromthe lateral frames and adapted for adjustment therewith into variousangles with respect to the main frame, manually-operated adjusting meansfor the lateral frames, and adjustable ditch scrapers projectingoutwardly from said lateral frames.

2. A road drag comprising a main frame, road scraper frames hinged tothe sides of said main frame, outstanding ditch scrapers carried by thesaid road scraper frames, and independent adjusting means for the roadscraper frames and for the ditch scrapers.

3. A road drag comprising a main frame, road scrapers projectingoutwardly from the opposite sides of the main frame, means for adjustingthe road scrapers to the desired angle with respect to the main frame,looking means for retaining the scrapers in adj usted position, ditchscrapers extending out- Wardly from the road scrapers, and adjustablemeans for holding the ditch scrapers at the desired angle With respectto the road scrapers.

4. A road drag comprising a main frame, road scrapers outstanding fromthe main frame, independent adjusting means for the road scrapers, ahand controlled device for actuating each adjusting means and adapted tobe operated from above the main frame, and a draft beam adjustablyconnected to the main frame and to the road scrapers adapted to equalizethe load, and at the same time admit of the independent adjustment ofthe road scrapers.

5. A road drag comprising a frame, bars pivotally connected to the frameat the inner terminals thereof, and at the sides of the frame, said barshaving blades thereon, beams connected to the outer terminals of thebars for maintaining them in parallel relation, means connected to theframe and beams for adjusting the angle of the bars, and hinged barsconnected to the beams projecting beyond the terminals of the parallelbars, and adjustable means connected to the outer terminals of said barsand to the beams.

6. A road drag comprising a frame, a plurality of transverse barspivotally connected at their inner terminals to the sides of the frame,said bars having blades thereon, beams connected to the outer terminalsof said transverse bar, shafts connected on the frame having sprocketWheels, chains connected to the terminals of the beams and passingaround the sprocket Wheels, Whereby upon the rotation of the shaft thetrans verse bars may be shifted for changing the angle of the transversebars Wlth IGSPQCt to the frame, a draft beam, and flexible meansconnected to the beams and frame and engaging the draft beam.

7. A road drag comprising a main frame, lateral frames hinged to themain frame, road scrapers mounted on the lateral frames, a draft beamadjustably connected to the main and lateral frames, and manuallyadjustable means for moving the lateral frames into the desired angle tothe main frame without disturbing the line of draft through said draftbeam.

8. A road drag comprising a frame, transverse bars pivot-ally connectedthereto at their inner terminals, said bars having blades thereon, beamsconnected to the transverse bars at their outer terminals, means on theframe and connected to the beams for adjusting the angle of thetransverse bars, a draft beam having pulleys journaled thereon at theterminals of the beam, a chain connected to each. beam and passingaround a pulley of the draft beam and connected to the frame, wherebythe draft beam may ad'- just itself to exert a pulling force from theframe and beams regardless of the position assumed by the beams.

9. A road drag comprising a frame, transverse bars pivotally connectedto the frame at the inner terminals thereof and at the sides of theframe, said bars having blades thereon, beams connected to the outerterminals of the transverse bars, ditching bars hinged to the beams atthe rear terminals thereof and depending blades thereon, and flexiblemeans connected to the outer terminals of the ditching bars and to theforward ends of the beams for adjustably connecting the ditching bars tothe beams, a draft beam, and flexible means connecting the draft beam tothe beams and frame.

10. A road drag comprising a frame, a plurality of transverse barspivotally connected at their inner terminals to the sides of the frame,said bars having blades thereon, beams connected to the bars at theirouter terminals, shafts mounted on the frame having sprocket Wheels,chains connected to the outer terminals of the beam and passing aroundthe sprocket Wheels, whereby the transverse bars may be adjusted atvarious angles, means on the frame for locking the shafts againstrotation, ditching bars hinged to the beams, flexible means connected tothe outer terminals of the ditching bars and to the beams, a draft beamflexibly connected to the frame, and means for elevating the bars andframe and conveying them from one destination to another. 7

11. A road drag comprising a plurality of inner and outer longitudinalbeams, a plurality of transverse bars pivotally connected to the innerlongitudinal beams, cross and diagonal bars connected to the inner beamsfor holding said inner beams parallel and relatively stationary, saidouter beams being connected to the outer terminals of the transversebars, means connected to the inner and outer beams for adjusting thetransverse bars at an angle to the inner beams, ditching bars hinged tothe outer beams, flexible means connecting the outer terminals of theditching bars to the outer beams, a draft beam, means for flexiblyconnecting the ends of the draft beam to the inner and outer beams,Wheels connected to the inner and outer longitudinal beams, and means oneach beam for raising and lowering the Wheels whereby the beams and barsmay be elevated vice on the frame having connection with the outer endsof the scrapers to swing the In testimony, that I claim the foregoingsame into the desired angle, and a draft as my own, I have heretoaffixed my signabeam for the drag, said draft beam being ture in thepresence of two Witnesses.

adjustably connected to the frame and to the HILDOR ERICKSON. outer endsof the scrapers to admit the free Witnesses:

movement of the scrapers by said operating ROSE MCCORMICK,

device during the travel of the drag. ALFRED P. COSBY.

Copies 01' this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C.

